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31 Jan 2012 23:37

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Politics: Not only is Newt Gingrich not quitting, he hasn’t even started fighting yet

  • I would define Newt’s head space as: ‘Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’
  • David Lane • A  conservative leader close to Gingrich. This quote is actually from before the primary, and Lane’s prediction was born out in Gingrich’s speech tonight, wherein the former Speaker pledged to plow forward despite having lost Florida tonight. The article’s author, Alexander Burns, adds that “Gingrich has made a career out of upending conventional wisdom and ignoring the establishment view that he should go to the corner and shut up.” A long, protracted primary probably won’t be any help to the eventual nominee, but it’ll sure be fun for political nerds like us.  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 20:51

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Politics: This 1995 profile of Newt Gingrich is a fun read

  • I would really love to spend six months to a year in the Amazon basin, just being able to spend the day watching tree sloths.
  • Newt Gingrich • In a 1995 Vanity Fair profile. There are lots of fun tidbits in this piece. Even back then, Gingrich was thinking of a presidential run, but his then-wife Marrianne didn’t approve. “I don’t want him to be president,” she said, “and I don’t think he should be” (he eventually divorced her). Newt often describes himself oddly journalistic terms, as if he’s a pundit writing an op-ed column, and this was true in 1995 as well.  He says here that he’s “a mythical person,” “a psychodrama living out a fantasy,” and that “what makes me unusually intense is that I personalize the pain of war, the pain of children being killed.” source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 17:45

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Politics: Is Newt Gingrich beginning to fade?

  • 37.7% Newt’s support from Nov. 30-Dec. 3; that is, in the couple of days before Herman Cain withdrew from the race
  • 24.4% Newt’s support–in the same poll–from Dec. 3-Dec. 7, the first few days after Cain withdrew source
  • » What’s going on here? Actually, we’re not sure. Common wisdom says that Cain’s support flocked to Gingrich after the former dropped out of the race (or, sorry, “suspended” his campaign). So how come the same University of Iowa poll–taken in the state over a weeklong period–shows a drastic fall in the former House Speaker’s support after Cain’s exit? Of course, the standard “this is just one poll” disclaimer still applies; this could just be an anomaly. But a 13.3% decline in one week is significant, and outside the poll’s margin of error. Given the boom-bust tendency of the GOP field this year, we can’t help but wonder if this is the beginning of the end for Newt (note: it’s rather unusual for a polling house to make available the intra-week trends of a single poll; much respect to Reuters, who co-sponsored this poll, for doing so).
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Dec 2011 17:51

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Politics: Gingrich and Pelosi, reachin’ across the aisle

  • 418 bills co-sponsored by Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich source
  • » Bipartisan support: For twelve years, Pelosi and Gingrich served together in the House of Representatives, and supported a total of 418 bills together. That’s an average of 34.83 pieces of legislation per year that enjoyed Pelosi/Gingrich support (at least, that’s what our team of math experts tells us; we didn’t have time to check their work). One such bill was the Global Warming Prevention act of 1989, the memory of which probably won’t do Gingrich any favors in the Republican primary (relatedly, neither will this). It should be noted, however, that much of this was non-contentious legislation, such as one honoring the 50th anniversary of the National Heart, Lung and Blood instituted.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Dec 2011 14:48

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Politics: Rep. Peter King not sold on Gingrich candidacy

  • You know there is enough crises in the world, without inflicting crisis on ourselves. Or again, I keep saying ‘putting himself at the center’. The reason the Republicans lost the government shut down debate with President Clinton in 1995, is because Newt gave the impression it was all about being made to get off of Air Force One. I meant, that’s how he puts himself at the center of everything.
  • Rep. Peter King • Expressing his doubts about the prospect of a Newt Gingrich nomination or presidency. King is an extremely conservative member of congress, and served under the Gingrich speakership in the 1990s. It’s comments like these that give voters and analysts reason to pause when considering the Newt 2012 effort, as various figures within the GOP establishment do seem to have serious doubts about Gingrich’s suitability to the Presidency, and his legacy in Republican politics. Gingrich is well aware of this, too; when the House in 1998 voted to reprimand him over ethics charges, 196 Republican congressman voted against him. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2011 14:14

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Politics: The pun we were all waiting for

  • This is, in fact, the official name of Gingrich’s New Hampshire effort. Hopefully, “Mitt Hampshire” will follow, maybe with a banner image that’s a little less self-parodical. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2011 21:58

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Politics: “Republicans are stupid,” says Republican candidate for president

  • One of the Republican weaknesses is that we rely too much on consultants and too much on talking points, and we don’t rely enough on actually knowing things.
  • Newt Gingrich • In an interview with David Brody. Not quite sure what the political calculus is here, as admitting publicly that your entire party doesn’t know what it’s talking about is rarely good politics. However, not “actually knowing things” would seem to be a disqualifying factor for someone running for president, so Newt’s obviously exempting himself from this assessment. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Nov 2011 16:08

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Politics: Here’s the thing about the Gingrich surge

  • yeah…Newt Gingrich is, to the surprise and annoyance of pundits everywhere, storing ahead of his GOP rivals in national polls. Newtmentum!
  • but…Polls also show the “ideas man” faring rather poorly against President Obama in a general election, trailing the POTUS by 8–12 points. source
  • » Now is probably a good time to bust out this gem from last summer.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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